Chapter 1219. The Demon King of Sunset’s Castle, the Final Story (12)

“Don’t surrender to the darkness!” I[1] shouted.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Despite my desperate cry filled with tears, Woo Hyo-Yeol remained unchanging.

‘Damn it.’

I thought he could still hear me, but it seemed like he couldn’t hear me at all.

“That idiot. That damn fool,” I cursed.

Obviously, I started feeling anxious because I didn’t grant him that power just so he could get beaten up all day.

‘I thought that would be enough.’

I had underestimated him. Despite knowing that Kim Hyun-Sung was the type to always ruin my plans, I still made the mistake of underestimating him.

I tried comforting myself by saying that I made the best choice in the current situation, but it didn’t change the fact that I made a mistake.

I ought to have been more careful when strengthening him. I looked back on everything I had done so far to try and figure out where it went wrong, but I knew better than anyone that it was meaningless.

‘Should I just go all out without thinking about anything?’

“Woo Hyo-Yeol, get ahold of yourself! Woo Hyo-Yeol!” I shouted.

Boooooooom!

"Keeeeeeeegh!"

“You...!”

"Grrrrr... grr... gah!"

‘This won’t do.’

Things could go wrong, but I felt like I had no other choice but to go out there myself.

Approaching the guy who was being beaten up wasn’t included in my calculations.

‘What the hell is this jerk...’

It was William. Obviously, I didn’t give him any orders. Having made up his mind, he suddenly charged at the sunset as if he was ready to throw his life away without any hesitation.

“Th-That crazy bastard,” I stuttered. Of course, it was a crazy thing to do. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but the battle was already beyond what William could handle.

He had already reached his limits, and I had already decided to remove him from the stage. Putting an actor back on the stage was my decision, not his. If he ended up dying, it’d be his fault, not mine.

‘I don’t care. I don’t care what happens, you idiot.’

Obviously, he wasn’t important. I had already decided that going back was the most important objective. In addition...

‘He’ll be out cold soon anyway.’

That was what I thought, but he wasn't stopping at all.

I tried disconnecting from him, but he stomped forward as if he had no intention of stopping this time.

Even without my orders, it seemed William already knew what he had to do. It was only for a moment, but it felt as if

I

was the one being dragged around.

I knew he was going to die. The chances of him dying were high, but I realized that there was nothing dumber than stopping him right now. He couldn’t be stopped, and...

"Get... ahold... of... yourself... you... idiot..."

William finally collapsed. For a moment, I felt annoyed, but...

‘No, he did well.’

Rohen wasn’t important. I had a specific place to go back to, so his collapse wasn't really going to affect me. I immediately realized that my annoyance, anger, longing toward Kim Hyun-Sung, and my annoyance toward William were all meaningless emotions.

Rather than trying to sort through the many personalities swirling in my mind, it made more sense to focus on what was in front of me.

‘I was going to use him and throw him away, anyway. I do need him later on...’

I needed to deal with the immediate crisis, so it was only right to applaud him for his choice.

“Woo Hyo-Yeol... snap out of it!” I shouted.

There was only one thing I needed to do, and it was betting on the side that was most likely to win. Rather than caring about the guy who was going to get himself killed, what mattered most was shouting with my gentle voice using all of my heart.

“Snap out of it!” I repeated.

"Grr... grr..."

“Snap out of it... please... please... Mr. Hyo-Yeol...” I begged.

The timing was great. It was the perfect time to calm down the upset monster, and we also had a perfect scapegoat.

Raymond Bolt had carried out his inspirational role brilliantly. The veteran warrior was great, but the sacrifice of his rival would be even more effective. I was sure it’d be effective, as he considered Will as his rival without realizing it himself.

He wasn’t really a psychopath.

I had no idea what he was like in his first life, but he reacted well to death.

‘Maybe I should call out to him a little more sadly.’

I could also groan to indicate that I was in pain.

“Mr. Hyo-Yeol...

heuk

...” I cried.

"Krrrrrgh... grr..."

I felt like it would be great to talk about the past as well.

Our time together was short... but I was convinced that it was a good idea.

“You...” I said.

I had to be more desperate.

“You idiot,” I said.

Speaking in a sorrowful way was the answer here.

“Woo Hyo-Yeol, you idiot! How long are you going to keep lying there like an idiot?!” I shouted.

I knew that was the answer, but the anger somewhere inside me made me spit harsh words.

“You useless fool! Get up! You bastard! If you don’t, I’m going to kill you! If you don’t snap out of it, I’m really going to kill you, you incompetent fool!

"You think I invested in you... just so I could see you like this? If you’re not going to pay me back, then just die there! You bastard!” I continued.

"

Grr...

"

“You idiot! I gave you everything, and you can’t even beat this nerfed fool?! And you call yourself a regressor! You jerk! Do something...” I added.

"

Grrr...

"

“I said, do something, you incompetent fool!” I shouted.

Boom!

"..."

There was a loud explosion that kicked up clouds of dirt and smoke. When they dissipated, I saw the Monarch of Sunset buried in a distant wall.

"Whoo... whoo..."

Woo Hyo-Yeol was standing in front of the collapsed William.

"Whoo..."

He was breathing heavily. Unlike before, he wasn't making any beastly cries. I was worried that perhaps the coating had come off, but the only coating that came off was the one around one of his eyes.

"Whoo... whoo..."

However, his demeanor was clearly different from before. He examined himself before staring at William. The golden eye that had lost its coating revealed no emotions whatsoever. He wasn’t the type to express his emotions in the first place, so I expected that much, but he looked more indifferent than I thought. However...

"You bastard."

His right leg delivered a kick charged with anger.

Boom!

Kim Hyun-Sung was blasted away once again.

‘A second awakening?’

I had no idea whether there were big changes to his physical abilities, but I knew there was some sort of change, at the very least. I could tell that he had grown stronger.

Bam!

He punched the Monarch of Sunset's face.

Boom!

Kim Hyun-Sung was blasted away, slamming into a wall once again. He tried to block Woo Hyo-Yeol's attack using his wings, but Woo Hyo-Yeol suppressed his wings using his tail.

Woo Hyo-Yeol had become faster and more precise.

Kim Hyun-Sung blocked his tail using his sword. He looked kind of surprised, and I was sure he realized that something about Woo Hyo-Yeol had changed. Whatever I could feel, he could definitely feel it as well.

Crack! Boom! Swoosh!!

The close-quarter fight continued, and neither side was willing to back down.

The castle was devastated as they dodged, blocked, and slashed at each other. It sounded simple when describing it with words, but the battle before me was far from simple.

The two were so out of breath that I wondered if they still knew how to breathe. I was sure they realized that they weren’t allowed to take even a single breath.

Obviously, Kim Hyun-Sung looked tense. I knew he had way too many penalties for me to bet on him, but even so, he was only marginally ahead. He didn’t have Lee Ki-Young, after all.

“You’ll see it all,” I said.

I saw everything through Woo Hyo-Yeol’s eyes, and information about Kim Hyun-Sung would flood my mind every second. In return, I delivered information about where Kim Hyun-Sung's attacks were coming from, his habit, his mana's special characteristics, and the best option among the dozens of options.

Having Lee Ki-Young’s memories meant that I could write a thesis on Kim Hyun-Sung. It was the same for his sword techniques. If he were a display, Lee Ki-Young was a player capable of controlling that display with his eyes closed.

I had so many memories of Kim Hyun-Sung.

‘He’s an idiot if he ends up losing.’

Kim Hyun-Sung swung his sword. Woo Hyo-Yeol leaned forward and swung his fist.

Bam!

Woo Hyo-Yeol's fist landed on Kim Hyun-Sung’s face.

However, Kim Hyun-Sung ignored the attack and smacked Woo Hyo-Yeol with the pommel of his sword, but Woo Hyo-Yeol had already seen through that attack. He caught the pommel in midair and swung his tail.

The Monarch of Sunset was forced to take a step backward, while Woo Hyo-Yeol took a step forward. Kim Hyun-Sung was being cornered as Woo Hyo-Yeol swung his arms and legs nonstop.

Bam! Crack!

"

Ahhhhhhh!"

It wasn’t like him to shout like this, but I wanted to shout as well.

Crack! Bam! Baaam!

The thug was attacking with his elbows, knees, and feet, and he was clearly cornering the Sword of Sunset. Using his specialty, he inflicted damage on Kim Hyun-Sung. I could already see anxiety swirling in Kim Hyun-Sung's eyes.

He was anxious that he would lose.

Actually, I felt like he knew that his chances of winning were growing slim.

Crack! Crack!

‘You can win.’

"

Ahhhhhhhhh!

You bastard!"

‘You can win.’

Kaboooooooooom!

‘Please...’

Craaaaaaaack!!!

“Please! Stop falling... you bastard!” I shouted.

And... finally...

Kim Hyun-Sung sprawled out quietly on the ground.

‘Did he win?’

As soon as I entertained that thought...

"

Ha... haha... hahahahaha... haha...

"

“...”

"Ha... hahahahaha... hahahahahahahaha!"

Kim Hyun-Sung laughed uproariously.

Woo Hyo-Yeol busy collecting his breath stared at Kim Hyun-Sung on the ground.

"What’s so funny, you jerk?" he asked.

There was no need to hear his answer, as I instantly saw what was making Kim Hyun-Sung laugh.

“Damn... it...” I mumbled.

- ...

“Damn it... Shit...” I cursed.

"..."

One of Kim Hyun-Sung’s eyes was shining.

“L-Lee Ki-Young... you bastard... you... bastard!!!” I yelled.

An indescribable sense of despair washed over me.

“You... damn jerk... why... why... why now...” I mumbled.

Perhaps he never had the intention of leaving us alone. I couldn't help but keep thinking that way.

"Ha... hahahahaha! Hahahahahaha!"

1. Lee Ki-Young’s POV ☜